The Sunday Briefing: Andrey Zaichenko, Kyle Knecht Win On Double Vision Sunday

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Oct 17, 2011 6 min read Last updated Dec 18, 2011

PokerStars had players seeing double on Sunday, and it had nothing to do with blood-alcohol levels. The world's No. 1 online poker room ran the Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up twice as part of the first PokerStars Double Vision Sunday. In all, more than $4 million was up for grabs between the four biggest tournaments available on Sunday's tournament slate.

Among the biggest winners across the online tournament scope Sunday was Kyle "knecht_poker" Knecht, who added a victory in the Sunday Warm-Up to his WCOOP bracelet from 2010. Others hitting six-figure paydays Sunday were Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko and Andrew "achen" Chen.

PokerStars Sunday Million ($1M Guaranteed)

Thanks to a five-handed deal, five players emerged from the "regular" Sunday Million with six-figure scores. With the deal in place, the remaining players battled for the $20,000 left on the table. The U.K.'s "acozubi" took command by eliminating "AlexTz30" in fifth place, but then Andrew "achen" Chen sent the next two players to the rail to set up a heads-up match against "acozubi" for the title.

Chen held a slight lead when heads-up play began, but most of his stack was sent over to the Brit as the result of a horrific river card. With the blinds at 300K/600K and a 60K ante, "acozubi" min-raised the button and Chen three-bet to 3.3 million."Acozubi" then shoved for just over 34 million and Chen called instantly with A♦A♠, having his opponent's 7♣7♥ in bad shape. The 9♥6♣2♥ flop brought no help to "acozubi," but the A♥ turn gave him a flush draw and Chen a set. The British player needed a heart on the river to survive and hit gin with the J♥ to leave Chen with just 2.3 million. Chen was eliminated on the very next hand, giving "acozubi" his first Sunday Million title.

To read more about this week's Sunday Million, head over to PokerStarsBlog.com

*denotes five-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Mike "munchenHB" Telker (12th - $7,750.60), Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey (22nd - $3,283.43), Jan Heitmann (23rd - $3,283.43), TJ "1BigAceHole" Ulmer (32nd - $2,931.13)

PokerStars Sunday Million II ($1M Guaranteed)

In the second Sunday Million of the day, a familiar online tournament name made the final table as the mysterious "Halfrek" took fourth place. After a three-handed deal, Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko emerged victorious for the day's top prize of $159,455.92.

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Jiri "horyna" Horacek (23rd - $2,676.38)

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up ($500K Guaranteed)

The first Sunday Warm-Up of the day saw three notables make the final table, two of whom earned spots among the top three. Recent World Championship of Online Poker winner Vincent "Vingtcent" Van Der Fluit saw his run end in third place when he got involved in a massive pot against Canada's "inheritance." The two players got all of their chips in on a flop of 8♣7♠3♥; Van Der Fluit held Q♥8♠ for top pair and was up against the 10♥9♠ of the Canadian. The 9♣ on the turn gave "inheritance" a higher pair and the 3♦ changed nothing, sending Van Der Fluit out in third place with $67,039.

Kyle "knecht_poker" Knecht and "inheritance" immediately began chop talks and came to an agreement to secure six-figure paydays for both players. Knecht, another WCOOP champ, then found luck on his side by winning a flip with pocket fours against A♦9♠ to take the chip lead. A short time later, Knecht got aggressive with a four-bet shove holding 10♥9♥ and found himself up against the K♥K♠ of "inheritance." The 7♣6♦2♥ flop provided Knecht with some hope, and the 8♥ gave the him a winning straight and the Sunday Warm-Up title.

If you want an even more in-depth recap of the action of the PokerStars Warm-Up, head on over to PokerStarsBlog.com

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Niki "RealAndyBeal" Jedlicka (55th - $1,422.05)

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up II ($500K Guaranteed)

Out of the biggest Sunday Majors, the second Sunday Warm-Up was the the only one to not have a deal completed. It attracted a field of 3,816, surpassing its guaranteed prize pool of $500,000. "Method999" claimed the victory outright for $119,823.75.

Notable Finishes: Matt "mjw006" Wakeman (16th - $2,289.60), Ozenc "ozenc" Demir (33rd - $1,717.20)

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($250K Guaranteed)

Online tournament specialist Casey "bigdogpckt5s" Jarzabek left with the biggest prize in the Sunday 500, finishing runner-up for $53,570.82. "Gord0nGeck0" took it down following a three-handed deal.

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Scott "PokerToronto" Desveaux (14th - $3,159.20), Caio "caio_pimenta" Pimenta (15th - $3,159.20), Shyam "G's zee" Srinivasan (17th - $2,441.20)

PokerStars Bigger $55 ($200K Guaranteed)

The Bigger $55 saw an increase of 77 players this week. The 5,411 entrants created a prize pool of $270,550. There were no problems for "Nty9Problems," who won the PokerStars Bigger $55 outright for $34,362,28.

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($100K Guaranteed)

Every week the Bigger $109 absolutely smashes its $100K guarantee and this week was no different. The guarantee was more than doubled, $273,400, by the 2,734 entrants. Earning top honors in it this week was "marrajon," taking home $39,555.70, after a deal was reached heads-up.

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Grayson "gray31" Ramage (13th - $1,777.10)

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($100K Guaranteed)

The Bigger $162 attracted a field of 1,376, creating a prize pool of $206,400. Another Sunday Major, another deal. This time it was "bas0r" besting Michael "YrrsiNN" Huber in the Bigger $162 for $32,356.22.

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Patrick "pmahoney22" Mahoney (16th - $1,135.20), Philipp "philbort" Gruissem (22nd - $701.76)

PokerStars Sunday 2nd Chance ($125K Guaranteed)

Making the final table of the Sunday 2nd Chance was Vojtech "Vojta_R" Ruzaicka, runner-up in the 2011 WCOOP Main Event. He finished in third place in this one while "Rimlog" took it down for $37,872.

Notable Finishes: Benn "risk2Dupside" Skender (13th - $1,788.40)

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($200K Guaranteed)

Although the $109 Sunday Rebuy had seven fewer entrants this week, its prize pool was bigger thanks to more rebuys and add-ons. Emerging victorious following a heads-up deal was "we different" for $53,684.70.

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Richard "nutsinho" Lyndaker (19th - $1,490.85)

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($200K Guaranteed)

Up in attendance slightly from last week, the Sunday Storm continues to consistently draw more than 30,000 players each week. Following a three-handed deal, "atzektm" claimed victory for $21,729.99.

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($75K Guaranteed)

The Sunday Kickoff was down more than 100 entrants from last week. Unlike last week, however, there was no deal. "TheFan83" took it down outright for $23,787.92.

_{*PokerStars Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up data obtained from PokerStarsBlog.com}

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